Friday, April 13, 2012

TSA Week in Review: Knife Zip-Tied to Handle of Bag

Click to Enlarge

Concealed Knife – A knife
was found zip-tied to the inner workings of a bag handle at Cedar Rapids (CID).
Clever, but no match for our officers and technology. (See photo)

Chicken Soup for Your Pants? – Officers
found a can of soup in a Las Vegas passenger’s carry-on bag. When told that it
couldn’t go through because of the liquids rule (it was more than 3.4 ounces),
the passenger said they would put the soup in their checked baggage. But when
the passenger returned to the checkpoint, officers saw that the passenger had tried
to hide the soup in their pants. No soup
for them.

Derringer in a Dopp
Kit – A Derringer was found amongst everyday toiletry items in a dopp kit
at San Diego (SAN). I don’t think you could trim your nails, but I bet you
could knick yourself if you shaved with it. (See photo)

Stun Pen – I’ve often heard that the pen
can be mightier than the sword. Well, in this case that statement is pretty
close to being true. A stun-pen was found on a passenger at Chicago Midway
(MDW).

Bad Kitty – Known as a black cat, or
cat eyes, this seemingly harmless kitty cat (see photo) becomes a punching
weapon when your fingers are inserted in its eyes. It’s cute little pointy cat
ears are designed to puncture and rip flesh.

Belt Buckle Knife – A belt
buckle knife was found was found on a passenger during screening at Akron
(CAK). Holy utility belt, Batman, good thing you didn’t bring your batarang and grappling gun.

More Grenades – An inert
grenade was found this week in a checked bag at Salt Lake City (SLC). Another
was found in a carry-on bag at San Diego (SAN) and it had a 1” knife concealed
inside it.

People Say the
Darndest Things: Here is an example of what not to say at the airport.
Statements like this not only delayed the people who said them, they can also
inconvenience lots of other passengers if the checkpoint has to be evacuated:

·An officer at Minneapolis (MSP) was searching a bag for
liquids when the passenger stated: “Those are my explosives.”

Miscellaneous
Prohibited Items:
In addition to all of the other prohibited items we find weekly, our Officers
also found firearm components, realistic replica firearms, stun guns, brass
knuckles, a agglomeration of knives, ammunition, and batons.

Click to Enlarge

Firearms: Here are the firearms our
Officers found in carry-on baggage since I posted last Friday.

Unfortunately
these sorts of occurrences are all too frequent which is why we talk about
these finds. Sure, it’s great to share the things that our officers are
finding, but at the same time, each time we find a dangerous item, the
throughput is slowed down and a passenger that likely had no ill intent ends up
with a citation or in some cases is even arrested. This is a friendly reminder
to please leave these items at home. Just because we find a prohibited item on
an individual does not mean they had bad intentions, that's for the law
enforcement officer to decide. In many cases, people simply forgot they had
these items in their bag. That’s why it’s important to double check your
luggage before you get to the airport.

If
you’d like to comment on an unrelated topic you can do so in ourOff Topic Comments post. You can also view our blog postarchives
orsearch
our blog to find a related topic to comment in. If you have a travel related
issue or question that needs an immediate answer, you can contact a Customer
Support Manager at the airport you traveled, or will be traveling through by
usingTalk to TSA.

You know I was wondering the same thing. I'm sure glad ya'll spent all that money on those body scanners that don't actually work. BTW exactly how many of these items were discovered using that technology? And by the way an inert grenade is a grenade shaped paperweight, not a grenade. It has zero threat value in checked luggage.

While some of these are clearly good catches, I fail to see why stopping someone from boarding an airplane with a can of soup is a success. Who exactly is being made safer by keeping soup out of a plane?

(if the answer is that it might be something more sinister inside the can... was the person arrested? the way I see it, either it was harmless soup and confiscating it was unwarranted, or it was something bad and allowing the person to go free was a serious failure)

I love how the TSA tries to inject these descriptions with pithy humor, only to follow up with the fact that under no circumstances should travelers try to be humorous. It's serious business or it isn't... pick one.

So that's what what this new "Week in Review" postings are all about. You're flaunting your TSA Easter Egg basket for the week!! Kip Hawley made it clear. TSA Screeners have an Easter Egg hunt mentality and get praised for finding things that are actually irrelevant to air security. I know you read his piece in the Wall Street Journal--Which was full of stuff TSA's been claiming BS SSI on.

"The unacceptable behavior of this individual in no way reflects the dedication of our nearly 50,000 transportation security officers who work tirelessly to keep our skies safe," TSA said in a statement obtained by the station.

Obivously this unacceptable behavior does refelct TSA in every way if this is the ONLY government agency that week after week is in the news. Sure other government agencies make headlines but TSA is consistently in the news every week. And sadly none of it is good, this website is the only thing positive about TSA. Why? Better hiring standards and promotion standards or STEP ASIDE!-Privatize!!!

The TSA should start intimidating....err..strongly cautioning media outlets to not print Kip Hawley's letter. Did you see all the supposed SSI stuff he wrote in it? Can't wait to see what else is in the book.

So the "Bad Kitty" can be used to "tear and rip flesh." OH NO! Do you know what else can be used to tear and rip flesh? Pretty much any metal item allowed through security.

As security expert Bruce Schneier points out, almost anything made of metal can be sharpened into a blade once you're through security. Just break off the handle of your rolling bag and sharpen the end and you have a great spear. Or sharpen the knie you still get handed in first class. It's that easy.

Given that, it's time we acknowledged that the TSA is completely ineffective and pointless. Under most circumstances I would say that we should just ignore them, but they insist that they have the right to spend billions of tax dollars and reach into our pants, so rather than ignoring them, I am afraid we're going to have to take the time to disband them.

The world is a much safer place because that soup was not allowed on the plane. I agree with the first post that it looks like all of these would have been caught with pre-9/11 security.

That person could have divided the soup into 3.4 oz containers, placed them in a quart bag and taken it through security. They could have placed the entire can of soup into a quart bag ans not been allowed to take that through security. Why is that? It's the same amount of liquid. I understand the quart bag limits the amount of liquid, but what is the point of the 3.4 oz containers? The total volume is still the same.

Second that, while I greatly am glad our country has the TSA and I appreciate your work, the current methods are not better. You're sadly stuck in a system where the people in charge are too stubborn to realize that they should be doing statistical comparison on safety rather then generalization.

I'm sure plenty of commentors are mentioning Kip Hawley's WSJ article, and each of those comments are being filed in the deleted piece of the delet-o-meter pie. TSA's public relations tactics are equal to that of Kim Jong Un.

I'm just astounded at how many people carry a firearm without a round chambered. Come ON people. If you have to deploy that thing, it's going to cost you precious time. Keep the safety on and keep the gun in a properly-designed holster, and it is 100% safe to carry most guns with a round chambered.

"An officer at Minneapolis (MSP) was searching a bag for liquids when the passenger stated: “Those are my explosives.”

Would this not be a reasonable response if the TSA agent held up a bottle of water? After all, it won't be allowed through because it's a threat - likely because it's possibly an explosive - so why wouldn't a literal-minded passenger refer to it that way?

what exactly is the tsa budget and what percentage of the national budget is goin to the tsa? 2011 US budget $3.83 trillion, tsa budget abour $8.1 billion. talk about a drop of water in the ocean.

please look at a list of items and focus only on one, aka soup. common people wake up. if a bomb gets on board and is detonated how many passengers are going to wrestle the person to the ground after it goes off? quit focusing on the small picture. pre 9/10/11 security would not detect explosives on a person.

I know one item that are not being found on lugagge....iPads.....TSA is "pre-emptibly removing then without owner consent" because....well, you all know those items were the prefrered weapon on 9/11....so it is not "stealing"....it is called "Keeping America Safe......

Anonymous said... what exactly is the tsa budget and what percentage of the national budget is goin to the tsa? 2011 US budget $3.83 trillion, tsa budget abour $8.1 billion. talk about a drop of water in the ocean.

please look at a list of items and focus only on one, aka soup. common people wake up. if a bomb gets on board and is detonated how many passengers are going to wrestle the person to the ground after it goes off? quit focusing on the small picture. pre 9/10/11 security would not detect explosives on a person.

April 15, 2012 5:05 PM.............

First off each little drop in the bucket quickly leads to a full pail. TSA has historically wasted large sums of taxpayer monies. Explosive Trace Portals come to mind and I suspect the Strip Search Machines are soon to follow. I see no problem with requiring all federal agencies to be responsible when spending tax monies or we will have another GSA on our hands.

AS far as the can of soup, TSA could have quickly tested the can with ETD and determined if the item was a threat or not. The current restrictions on LGA's has no basis in science and is done to show the public that TSA is doing something when we all know that TSA is broken. Even Kip Hawley, the former Administrator of TSA has admitted that TSA is on the wrong path. I have to wonder just why John Pistole isn't smart enough to realize that TSA non-functional.

"Aside from obvious weapons capable of fast, multiple killings—such as guns, toxins and explosive devices—it is time to end the TSA's use of well-trained security officers as kindergarten teachers to millions of passengers a day. The list of banned items has created an "Easter-egg hunt" mentality at the TSA. Worse, banning certain items gives terrorists a complete list of what not to use in their next attack. Lighters are banned? The next attack will use an electric trigger."

-Kip Hawley, Director of the TSA 2005-2009

How many of the items on your list should have been allowed, according to the standards the former TSA director suggests?

1st: I think it's great that the TSA publishes this blog every week. Yes, the TSA does have a bad rap, but at least they are trying to be open, honest and trying to work with the public. Well done!

2: People are really picking on a "can of soup" as some sort of joke point? How are we supposed to know what's in said can? Should we flaunt all the rules? Heck no. The fact that a passenger actually plain faced LIED to the TSA about their intentions is bad enough, what else did they lie about? Plus I doubt it was some sort of "rare collectible" can of chicken soup. Buy one when you land for crying out loud!

3: You're saying the TSA protects no one? My god, are you LOOKING at some of the LOADED GUNS people are trying to bring onto airlines? The knives people are trying to conceal and bring on board? With all the stories lately of people going nuts on airplanes, how long before someone (who's not even a terrorist!) just decides to attack passengers because "The dog told me to!". Frankly I'm grateful that the TSA made another "catch" this week!

Flying is a pain, that's for sure. Being stuck in a metal tube for hours, no leg room, your neighbour practically sitting on your lap. Yup, I even admit, I hate having to que, take off my shoes, empty my bags, get scanned, repack everything..... and I really wish I didn't have to do that. However, if anything, this blog has shown that the general public can't be trusted to act responsibly for air travel, let alone anyone with terrorist beliefs.

If you don't want to deal with the TSA, don't fly! If you NEED to fly or WANT to fly, but believe things should be run differently, then petition your local Senator. Require them to fly coach on public airlines rather than have their private jets paid for out of our tax payer money! I promise you, things will change a heck of a lot quicker then.

As for the TSA? Well done and thank you for trying to make the airways safer for us.

Interesting that the majority posting on here have nothing good to say about the TSA and that no terrorists or terrorist threat has been prevented by the TSA. How exactly do you all know that ?

Isn't it faintly possible that there have been no attempts to bomb planes because the terrorists now know they will likely get caught so prefer to concentrate their efforts elsewhere. Even hijackings will not be repeated since no passenger is ever going to let a hijacker control a plane without a fight.

i still cannot believe this is America. i was always taught to protect yourself and family. not give up all your rights and weapons, so the TSA (which another in dallas was just arrested for STEALING ipads from passengers) can "save us" from terrorists and chicken soup.

anon said:Post 9/11 security doesn't either. The body scanners are not explosive detectors. The TSA likes to pretend they are, but they don't really work.

really? they dont detect explosives? they detect anything that does not conform to the contuers of the body, including explosives. they are designed to stop someone from hiding explosives on their person, just as Umar Farouk Abdulmutallab, aka the underwear bomber. i like the people that say that you can hide explosives in your body, very true. so do you want this type of search in the future?

rb said:First off each little drop in the bucket quickly leads to a full pail. TSA has historically wasted large sums of taxpayer monies. Explosive Trace Portals come to mind and I suspect the Strip Search Machines are soon to follow. I see no problem with requiring all federal agencies to be responsible when spending tax monies or we will have another GSA on our hands.

AS far as the can of soup, TSA could have quickly tested the can with ETD and determined if the item was a threat or not. The current restrictions on LGA's has no basis in science and is done to show the public that TSA is doing something when we all know that TSA is broken. Even Kip Hawley, the former Administrator of TSA has admitted that TSA is on the wrong path. I have to wonder just why John Pistole isn't smart enough to realize that TSA non-functional.

so you live in a dream world do you rb? history is history, why dont you focus on larger areas of corruption like the whole lobbying process? do something for the greater good, instead of preaching from your soapbox. its a good thing that the tha agents arent real officers like say the secret service, because they never do anything wrong... what is your experience with this etd machine? are there tyoes of explosives that it doesnt search for? once again if tsa allows people to bring large liquids in again then they will need to be inspected and tested. do you know what that means? MUCH longer lines. im for less time spent in line. what i find interesting is that people arent accountable for their actions. how long has the liquid ban been in effect? and people still bring these items? give me a break!

Wow...you know things are bad at the TSA when the former leader writes an article in the Wall Street Journal (WSJ) entitled "Why Airport Security Is Broken - And How To Fix It". As Mr. Hawley stated in the WSJ article "The relationship between the public and the TSA has become too poisonous to be sustained." Unfortunately, Mr. Hawley along with many other TSA leaders have failed to acknowledge that most Americans do not want to be virtually stripped searched, radiated, or groped to board an airplane. Until you are your other colleagues at the TSA recognize that fact, your wasting our time and tax dollars with these silly and useless weekly posts.

I would like to see what would happen if we got rid of the TSA for just 6 months. I bet the number of passengers would greatly decrease do to fear for safety, and there would be an outcry by the same people on here bashing the organization as to why the government doesn't secure our airlines. Also, I think there would be a high probability that terrorists would strike again, in a way that would put 9/11 to shame. Believe it or not the TSA does deter terrorist acts just by their mere presence. People need to quit finding things to complain about.

I am a frequent traveler, and I for one appreciate what these men and women do. All this coments about the knives and Guns and if these items could really assist a terrorist. Everyone seems to be forgetting that the planes that were taken over on 911 and used to take done the WTC were taken over with a small boxcutter. I am sure that the shoe bomber went thru a metal detector, but that did not stop him from getting explosives on a plane, as they are not metal. so therefore a metal detector would not detect them. We are losing sight of the fact that they are here to protect us. Yes the people on those planes fought back, but they, and thousands of others died. These people are in place so tha others will not have to take as those brave souls did on 911. Just to clarify, I am not a TSA employee, but am a retired police officer who understands that sometimes a little inconvenience is worth the safety of potentially thousands of people.

What happened to the soup after it was caught the second time? Was it thrown into the trash can next to the checkpoint? If it was, then we all know it was harmless. If not, was the bomb squad called in to safely dispose of it?

The soup would have been permitted if separated into 3.4 oz containers. Why is a can of soup more dangerous than several smaller containers containing the same amount of liquid?

Speaking of 9/11, does anybody believe that somebody is going to use a box cutter (a permitted item at that time by the way) to take over a plane? The only reason it worked was because everyone was told to cooperate with the hijackers. That obviously changed starting with flight 93. If you want to test this, you don't even need a knife or box cutter. All someone would have to do is run towards the cockpit. There's no danger to the plane because of the hardened cockpit doors. I bet the fellow passengers aren't going sit and do nothing.

If any of you use Netflix, there is an interesting documentary about the TSA and aviation security called "Please Remove Your Shoes" available through streaming. I thought it was interesting seeing former TSA head Kip Hawley testifying in front of Congress years ago after reading his article in the Wall Street Journal saying the TSA is on the wrong path.

Regarding this week’s catches, I see two Gerber Mark 1 knives. The cammo handle one is likely a recent model and not worth much, but the silver bladed grey handle one could be a keeper! Heck that leather sheath alone is worth a 100 bucks on Ebay. Is there a post about how to recover a confiscated item, or is there any chance you guys will auction these goodies?

What is the actual rule for traveling with diabetic medication and who can you speak to when the TSA screener wants to confiscate your gel or ice packs (twice) or your actual injection pens??? Last trip this happened at EWR and the screener said I had to prove it was medication since the pen was over 3.4 oz. The only way was to take a shot, thus wasting the medication and causing my blood sugar to drop. Why are the rules abitrary and capracious?

Anonymous said... What is the actual rule for traveling with diabetic medication and who can you speak to when the TSA screener wants to confiscate your gel or ice packs (twice) or your actual injection pens??? Last trip this happened at EWR and the screener said I had to prove it was medication since the pen was over 3.4 oz. The only way was to take a shot, thus wasting the medication and causing my blood sugar to drop. Why are the rules abitrary and capracious?

---------------------------------

You should have asked for a supervisor or a police officer. They should not force you to take a shot just to prove it's medicine. That's just dangerous in the first place to be messing with your blood sugar like that. If this ever happens again, you have to stand your ground. Eventually someone will have some common sense and let you through.

I wear an insulin pump and carry extra insulin and have never been questioned about it. The only issue I have is that I can't go through the scanners due to the manufacturer's recommendation. That always leads to the enhanced patdown. It's a shame I have to be groped that much just to get on a plane due to an involuntary opt-out of the scanner.

As a diabetic, you can carry juice or other liquids over 3.4 oz through. They can be used to treat low blood sugar. I've never tried carrying a bottle of juice though. I figure it's going to be more trouble than it's worth. I don't want to be the next big catch on the weekly blog post about confiscated items.

Sometimes when we are moderating we only have a list of 25 comments pop on the first page (the old Blogger format), and we address them. Since we all have duties other than the blog page, we might get the first batch of 25 done, and then have to come back at a later time to finish what is in the queue. Another reason some are overlooked until later times is that they get dumped into the SPAM folder for no reason and we have to ferret them out and publish them.

Omegaman sez - "Regarding this week’s catches, I see two Gerber Mark 1 knives. The cammo handle one is likely a recent model and not worth much, but the silver bladed grey handle one could be a keeper! Heck that leather sheath alone is worth a 100 bucks on Ebay. Is there a post about how to recover a confiscated item, or is there any chance you guys will auction these goodies?"

Please read up on the process for items that are surrendered to TSA in one of our previous blog posts here:

Unknown said...If the people on those planes that were crashed 9/11/01 were able to defend themselves, this blog would not exist.

Those people didn't know the towers were the target until it was to late. Flight 93 passengers learned from relatives of the hijackers intentions and took action. I love the way people spin this around to use as a tool against the TSA.

anon said:"Wow...you know things are bad at the TSA when the former leader writes an article in the Wall Street Journal (WSJ) entitled "Why Airport Security Is Broken - And How To Fix It". As Mr. Hawley stated in the WSJ article "The relationship between the public and the TSA has become too poisonous to be sustained." Unfortunately, Mr. Hawley along with many other TSA leaders have failed to acknowledge that most Americans do not want to be virtually stripped searched, radiated, or groped to board an airplane. Until you are your other colleagues at the TSA recognize that fact, your wasting our time and tax dollars with these silly and useless weekly posts."

whats really interesting is that hawley had just as big a hand in the bad image as anyone. he came up with the liquids ban. whats really interesting is that instead of sticking around and actually doing something to improve the image he quit.

Bob, could you explain why, if liquids are too dangerous to bring on to an airplane, when you take mine you simply toss them into a trash receptacle with the rest of the garbage? Shouldn't there be some hazardous waste procedures in place to ensure they aren't A) a danger to the garbage collection personel, and B) stolen to use in a terrorist plot against another target? If you're not worried about those two things, say because they are not actually dangerous, why not just let me keep them?

Can you explain how this isn't just posturing, to produce an illusion of security?

It's not about abolishing or removing the TSA. It's more about setting better screening guidelines, guidelines that are more reasonable and logical. TSA's screening and confiscation of so-called "PROHIBITED" items is way beyond reason and logic. People have to be more worried on what's in the cargo hold of the plane that what's inside the cabin. A knife can't put a plane down, more so can a can of soup.

Anonymous said..."Can you explain how this isn't just posturing, to produce an illusion of security?"

The illusion of safety is good enough for the TSA. The TSA isn't about safety, it's about making people *feel* safer so they keep buying airplane tickets. It's basically government support for the airline industry.

Anonymous said... anon said:"Wow...you know things are bad at the TSA when the former leader writes an article in the Wall Street Journal (WSJ) entitled "Why Airport Security Is Broken - And How To Fix It". As Mr. Hawley stated in the WSJ article "The relationship between the public and the TSA has become too poisonous to be sustained." Unfortunately, Mr. Hawley along with many other TSA leaders have failed to acknowledge that most Americans do not want to be virtually stripped searched, radiated, or groped to board an airplane. Until you are your other colleagues at the TSA recognize that fact, your wasting our time and tax dollars with these silly and useless weekly posts."

whats really interesting is that hawley had just as big a hand in the bad image as anyone. he came up with the liquids ban. whats really interesting is that instead of sticking around and actually doing something to improve the image he quit.

April 19, 2012 6:56 PM----------------------and now happens to be peddling a book..........What would you think would sell more copies? A book about how great the TSA is or a book about how bad it is and how it compromises the security of the nation and what a hero he was when he was in charge but was forced out before he could reform the agency single handed? I met the man a couple of times. He was just another self congratulating politician looking to make a name for himself and move up (or at least make a bigger salary so he could take a pension and get out - or write a book).

The problem with the soup can is easily resolved; just send the passenger's soup can through the same process that screens the literally thousands of soda, water and juice cans that are availavble in the "sterile" area.

Each and every one of those cans *is* subjected to extended scrutiny, is it not?

They found someone's soup-but totally missed a fully loaded 15 round 9mm Glock magazine that was in a side pocket when I had to grab a different bag right before leaving for the airport. I had to use the bag I normally use when I go to the range, because Pukey the cat decided my normal carryon bag was a good place to barf that morning. Was a bit of a surprise when I unpacked my bag at the other end and found the magazine there. Great Job guys.

Were any of the possessors of these items arrested and charged with a crime? Were any of them likely to even try to injure a fellow passenger with one of the items (much less take down the plane with them)? The thing is, all kinds of items--many things not currently banned by the TSA--can be dangerous in the wrong hands. In fact, the actuals hands of some people can be deadly. All of this ridiculous searching for and confiscating of more and more banned items is a colossal waste of time and money in addition to be a massive invasion of the rights and privacy of American citizens. (Is the government just trying an odd way of stimulating the economy? “Let’s just think of more things we can pilfer from the flying public so they’ll have to replace them.”) People have the potential to be dangerous—not things! Look for people with malicious intent. Taking away all of these items only means you have succeeded in taking away people’s items. It’s extremely unlikely you saved a person, much less a plane. Planes might actually be safer if good people had something they could use as a weapon if terrorists turned up on a plane.

Hey Bob, one of your co-workers stole diamond earrings out my checked bag. Was that a big catch too? Whats worse, your organization says it "may respond in as little as 60 days" to my claim. Thanks for keeping the sky safe from those diamond earrings, I hope they fetch you a good sum at the pawn shop.

While I agree that the screening done is necessary, I don't understand the prosecution of individuals who honestly did forget they had a gun in their bag or luggage. Many folks carry legally with permits and I can understand how they might forget to remove a gun with today's hectic lifestyles. Authorities attempt to prosecute people that have had clean records for 50 years much the same as people that were trying to get by with something. An honest oversite can end an individual's career and cause a serious financial burden. These folks don't need to be incarcerated or rehabilitated. Just seems there should be something in place to address the unintentional events, rather than full blown prosecution.